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courses that will appear on golfdigest.com. The Time for Nine list includes courses that allow and promote nine-hole play for men, women, juniors and families on layouts that make it easy to do so. “Five-hour plus rounds

of golf are incompatible with the compressed time that many of us have avail- able for recreational activi- ties,” said USGA President Glen D. Nager. “Time for Nine is a fun and creative start to promoting the nine-hole round of golf as a complete and enjoyable experience that is consis- tent with the traditions of playing the game.” Nine-hole rounds of

golf are fully compatible with both the Rules of Golf and the USGA Handicap System.

What is your favorite putting drill? Tips from Our Top Ams

RUSSELL HUMPHREY My time is limited. I don’t get to practice as much as everyone else, but when I have 15 or 20 minutes, I

spend it around the putting green. I work on 3- to 4-footers. If you can get comfortable with those, it helps you be freer with your long putts.

RICK REINSBERG When I am playing a course I’ve never played before, I’ll go to the practice green and hit a bunch of long

putts across the green, and then a bunch of short putts. That helps me get the speed down.

Anchoring Ban Official, Will Begin in 2016 W

hat the USGA and R&#38;A proposed in November becomes official in 2016:

anchoring the club to make a stroke will be illegal. The penalty will be two shots in stroke play, or loss of hole in match play. After a 90-day commenting

period on the proposed ban, the USGA and R&#38;A decided to adapt Rule 14-1b, which says, In making a stroke, the player must

not anchor the club, either “directly” or by use of an “anchor point.” Note 1: The club is anchored

“directly” when the player intentionally holds the club or a gripping hand in contact with any part of his body, except that the player may hold the club or a gripping hand against a hand or forearm.

Note 2: An “anchor point” exists when the player intentionally holds a forearm in contact with any part of his body to establish a gripping hand as a stable point around which the other hand may swing the club.

The USGA and R&#38;A ultimately decided to uphold the ban to define

what is the essence of a stroke: making a swing. “Rule 14-1b protects one of the most important challenges in the game of golf: the free swing of the entire club,” said Glen Nager, president of the USGA. “The traditional stroke involves swinging the club with both the club and gripping hands held away from the body, requiring the player to direct and control the movement of the entire club. Anchoring is different: Intentionally securing one end of the club against the body, and creating a point of physical attachment around which the club is swung, is a substantial departure from that traditional free swing.”